Advocating for a closer and stronger relationship between India and the Mediterranean, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday Mediterranean presents both opportunities and risks in an uncertain and volatile world and the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), announced in September last year, can be a “game changer”.
Jaishankar, who is in Italy and was speaking at the 10th edition of the MED Mediterranean Dialogue in Rome, said: “Our annual trade with the Mediterr-anean nations is about USD 80 billion. We have a diaspora of 460,000, and about 40% of that is in Italy. Our key interests are in fertilisers, energy, water, technology, diamonds, defence and cyber.”
He said India’s political relations with the Mediterranean are strong, and their defence collaboration is growing, including more exercises and exchanges.
Talking about opportunities, he said a closer and “stronger relationship between India and the Mediterranean will serve both of us well”. He said that the conflict in West Asia has undoubtedly been a major complication, but the IMEC is proceeding ahead on the eastern side, especially between India and the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
